Separation Anxiety
by Heart of a Music Box
Summary: Young Loki is overjoyed when he finally gets a room of his own. When night falls, however, his excitement falls humiliatingly short. Set as a sort of pre-Thorki but can be seen as just brotherly love. (Edit) I'd like it if everyone would stop getting angry with Thor for this; I want it known that he didn't cause it intentionally.


Lightning flashed through the halls as young Loki made his way from his bedchamber, flush to the wall and trembling at the sound of the distant rumbling thunderclaps. Oh, how he'd jumped at the chance to have his own room, he recalled bitterly as his candle shook on his finger; an entire chamber of space all to himself, with plenty of room to practice his magic or curl up and read in peace sans the constant noise and ruckus from his brother's general behavior. Even as he watched the short-lived hurt flash in Thor's eyes, he never once imagined the loneliness separating their sleeping arrangements might entail, for either of them.

And on the very first night, a storm had come.

Though nights like these were few and far between since the brothers had reached the ages of eleven and nine respectively, Loki found himself frustratingly unable to quell his unease when nighttime weather came to call. His secret remedy for his fear was simply to leap across his old bedchamber, into Thor's adjacent bed, and bury himself in blankets and his brother's snoring, unseasonably warm body, where he, much like a burrowing rodent, could feel secure once more.

Now that blissful haven wasn't in the next bed, it was down the next corridor.

It had taken Loki's half-asleep, half-terrified state to get him hopelessly turned around in the halls he knew perfectly well in conscious daylight, and so the ordeal of wandering in the darkened palace lasted for what felt like hours. At last, however, the younger prince reached Thor's new bedchamber. Thor, being ever-expressive, had nailed his battered old shield and wooden hammer to the front of the red oak door, both dented and bruised in their overuse. Trying desperately to muffle his heart-which he was sure was audible throughout the entire wing-he sucked in a breath and tried the handle.

Locked.

At once the sounds of the storm seemed to amplify, and a sudden crash-that Loki could've sworn came from within the palace somewhere-accompanied by the brightest flash he'd seen yet, which illuminated the entire corridor, sent him flat against his brother's door. His candle clattered to the floor and went out as he sunk to his knees, paralyzed.

A moment later another crash came, and Loki's scrambled to his feet, pounding as loudly as he could with his bony fists t the door and hoarsely shouting for his brother. With the next lightning flash he shut his eyes tightly, trying to block everything out; the storm, the icy floor, the look of confusion and hurt in Thor's eyes...

And then he was on the floor.

For a moment, he lay as though he were dead, stunned and confused, before two well-toned, extremely warm arms lifted him to his feet and before his fogged eyes swam muted hes of sky blue and gold. The blots of color swiveled and morphed before coming to rest in the shape of his brother's face, twisted in concern.

"Brother?"

Loki allowed himself to collapse against his brother's torso, trembling now with relief as the comfort of knowing Thor was there, right there, washed over him. He gripped the back of Thor's nightshirt tightly, steadying himself in order to stop the fit of pathetic sobbing he felt coming.

For a moment, he feared Thor would demand an explanation for this intrusive upset, but no demands were made. His brother lifted them both into the bed with surprising gentleness before covering Loki in every article of bedclothes he possessed, settling him down onto his mountain of pillows and muttering about how cold Loki's body felt...

Thor then laid beside his younger brother, flat on his back and clearly content to not have even a sheet thrown over him-burning hot as he always was-and had barely begun to breathe evenly before Loki nudged over and curled himself against his body, working Thor's right arm over his body, working his right arm over his burrowed form.

Thor smiled sleepily and turned over on his side, and the two fell asleep. Outside, a light pattering of rain sprinkled across the grounds as crickets and toads chirped in the distance, echoing through the still peace of the night.


End file.
